Grand Funk Railroad To Perform Fan Favorites In Tulsa

Despite harsh critical pans, Grand Funk Railroad dominated rock radio with hits like “We’re an American Band,” “Closer to Home” and “Some Kind of Wonderful” in the early and mid-1970s. In 1971, the group sold out New York’s Shea Stadium in only 72 hours, beating the previous record held by The Beatles.

“With Shea Stadium, I was scared to death,” said GFR drummer-singer Don Brewer during a recent telephone interview. “Here were three kids from Flint, Mich. We were maybe 21 at the time, selling out Shea Stadium faster than The Beatles.

“We had our names — Mark, Don and Mel — in really big letters behind the stage,” he added before laughing. “It was one of those moments you knew something had to go wrong.”

“During ‘Inside Looking Out,’ you could see the balconies of Shea Stadium — these whole tiers — bouncing up and down,” said Brewer, who is now 64 and lives in Jupiter, Fla. “People were jumping up and down to the beat of the music so hard, we thought the place was going to come down. It was a good gig. It was awesome.”

Grand Funk Railroad will prove its power and relevancy when they and co-headliners War play at 7 p.m. Friday at River Spirit Event Center at River Spirit Casino, 8330 Riverside Parkway in Tulsa. Grand Funk’s current lineup features co-founders Brewer and Schacher alongside guitarist Bruce Kulick (Kiss), singer Max Carl (38 Special) and keyboardist Tim Cashion; Farner continues his solo career in contemporary Christian music.

“This current lineup of Grand Funk has been around since 2000, and it’s a great bunch of guys,” said Brewer, who also tours with Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. “We do 30 to 40 shows a year, and we’re home with families on the holidays and most weekends. It’s a great job.”

Friday’s concert will feature cuts like “We’re an American Band,” “Rock and Roll Soul” and “Inside Looking Out,” as well as a couple of new songs, he said.

“We focus on giving the people what they want,” Brewer said of the new tour’s set list. “We know they want to hear the hits, and we’re happy to play the hit songs. When the fans are smiling, dancing, sweating and having a good time, that’s great.”

Brewer and company also focus on their inner-band friendships. He and Schacher have survived “many ups and many, many downs” through the years.

“Oh, Mel is No. 1; he’s the greatest bassist in rock,” Brewer said.

When asked what he thought of his own drumming and how he was among rock’s first singing drummers, Brewer laughed before recalling an episode of “The Simpsons” that referenced Grand Funk Railroad.

“Well, it’s kind of in the words of Homer Simpson,” he said before laughing again. “Homer said, ‘Here we have the competent drum work of Don Brewer.’ Yep, that’s me.”